A new evaluation model for corporate financial performance using integrated CCSD and FCM-ARAS approach

The financial performance is an indicator of financial stability, health and condition of any organisation. It could be utilised as a proper measure of the firm’s credibility and its ability to pay off debts. Financial institutions use this measure to determine the lending policy and applicants’ credits. This study proposes a model based on the CCSD weighing method and hybrid FCM-ARAS approach for clustering and evaluating the financial performance to enable banks to identify target groups and design appropriate and relevant policies. Based on previous studies and the views of senior financial managers of a public bank in Iran, eight economic criteria were evaluated. The presented method was used to assess the financial performance of 58 manufacturing companies applying for loans from a federal bank in Iran. However, the CCSD method was used to calculate criteria weights, and a hybrid FCM-ARAS approach was developed and applied to financial evaluation and clustering the companies. The use of the CCSD method can eliminate errors caused by subjective models and human judgments, and increase the accuracy of the assessment. In this study, the debt ratio and equity to total assets and ROA were identified as the main criteria to assess financial performance.